Plastic doll&#39;s eye and method of making same



PLASTIC DOLLS EYE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed March 24, 1947 x 2/- 9/Z 151% L 2- 24 Ihwcutor 2f fiw/mra Rape/'1.

- GftorneJS Patented Apr. 5, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLASTICDOLLS EYE AND METHOD or" AKING SAME Richard Rupert, Independence, Mo.Application March 24, 1947, Serial No. 736,784 2 Claims. (01. 46-165)This invention relates to dolls eyes and method of making same,, andmore particularly to a device shaped to form the eyes for dolls, toyanimals and the like. Artificial eyes for dolls,

toy animals, and for use in fur pieces and the like are usually made ofglass or glass and metal pieces assembled on a pin for insertion in thebody of the doll or the like. The eyes for the dolls receive roughusage, and children tend to pick at the eyes, and in dropping orotherwise playing with the doll the eyes are sometimes struck, causingbreakage of the portion forming the eyeball, and quite often the glassand metal portions become separated showing the eye.

The objects of the present invention are, therefore, to provide aplastic eye of a plurality of colored pieces for dolls and the like; toprovide a plastic head for a pin and the like .to form an eye for use indolls and toys; to provide a plastic head for a pin having a pluralityof colored pieces assembled and formed into an integral structure; toprovide a method of forming plastic parts of a dolls eye, applying sameto the head of a common pin, assembling the .parts, and shaping saidassembly into an integral pinhead; to provide the method of forming aplastic eye whereby the cornea portion is of different color than theplastic forming the eyeball; and to provide a plastic dolls eye that iseasily formed and. which is characterized by its simple, unbreakableconstruction, economy of manufacture and attractive appearance.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the present invention, Ihave provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dolls eye embodying the features ofthe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the eye with the pin inserted in the dollor other structure.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the plastic portions of thedolls eye, said portion being shown in disassembled relation.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the ball portion of the eye showing theconcentric recesses for receiving the cornea .portion of said eye.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the dolls eye illustratingthe assembly of the parts thereof before the final forming operation.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through a d-olls eye in a mold forreshaping the eye for retaining the cornea portion in place.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

1 designates a plastic dolls eye consisting of an eyeball portion 2having concentric therewith a cornea portion 3, preferably ofcontrasting color with the eyeball 2. The eye also includes a pin 4 forinsertion into the head 5 of a doll, toy animal and the like.

The eyeball portion is molded of a suitable plastic, for example,cellulose acetate butyrate, which may be reshaped by suitableapplication of pressure after the ball is molded. The dolls eyepreferably is constructed of a plurality of plastic members of differentcolor, for example, the ball portion may be amber and the cornea portionblack. The eyeball 2 is preferably molded of cellulose acetate butyrate,and in the illustrated form-preferably has a flat face 6 terminating ina bevelled edge 1, the outer face 8 thereof being of substantiallyspherical contour. Located in the outer face and concentric therewith isa recess 9 of substantially half the depth of the eyeball, theperipheral edges I0 and H of said recess converging or sloping towardthe axis of the eyeball from the greatest diameter l2 of the recesswhich is spaced inwardly from the outer edge I3 thereof. A bore I4concentric with the eyeball and recess 9 extends through the eyeball andis of such diameter as to receive the shank l5 0f the pin 4. The bottomface It of the recess 9 is provided with a counterbore ll, of suitablediameter to receive the head N3 of the pin 4, the depth of thecounterbore I! being substantially the same as the thickness of the head[8.

The cornea of the eye is molded separately and may be of any suitablematerial and is preferably of cellulose acetate butyrate and of adifferent color than the eyeball. The cornea 3 preferably has oppositefaces l9 and 20 of substantially spherical contour, substantially of thesame radius as the face '8 of the eyeball, the peripheral edge 2| beingof a diameter substantially the same as the diameter l2 of the recess 9and provided with bevelled faces 22 and 23 converging toward the axis ofthe cornea member, the bevel of the faces 22 and 23 being substantiallythe same as the faces l0 and II respectively of the recess 9. It is tobe noted that the faces l9 and 20 and the bevels 22 and 23 aresubstantially the same, whereby the cornea is reversible, and thespacing between the faces I9 and 20 is such that when the bevel 23 isseated on the bevel ll of the recess 9, the face [9 will conformsubstantially to the contour of the face 8 of the eyeball portion.

The members 2 and 3 are molded separately and of the desired color ofplastic. Then the eyeball member 2 is seated in a recess 24 of a mold25. The pin 4 may then be inserted in the member 2 in such a manner thatthe shank l5 extends through the aperture l4 into a suitable aperture 26of said mold, the head ii! of the pin seating in the recess I! of theeyeball member 2. The cornea is then placed on the edges l3 of therecess 9, for example the bevelled face 23 resting on the edge It, andpressure applied to the face IQ of the cornea member to snap same intothe recess 9, pressure being required to place the cornea in said recessdue to the relative sizes of the cornea member and the diameter of therecess at the edge 13, When the cornea is snapped' into the recess 9 andthe face 23 resting on the face H, a plunger 21 having a recess 28therein of the contour of the finished eye is moved down. wardly intoengagement with the eyeball 2 and cornea 3 and pressure applied theretoto shape the eye l3 and force the bevelled face H! of the member 2 intoengagement with the edge "22 'of the cornea 3, in such a manner that theface '8 and face [9 appear to be substantially continuous. After theshaping of the members 2 and 3, the plunger 21 is retracted and the eyemember removed from the mold, the eye member then being ready for use indolls, toy animals and the like.

It is believed obvious that I have provided an improved eye for dollsand the like that is substantially unbreakable, and provided with asequence of method steps for forming same from a plurality of pieces ofcontrasting colors, yet present a smooth, integral appearance.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

1. A dolls eye consisting of the combination of an oblate member ofsemitransparent plastic material to simulate the eyeball, said memberhaving a concentric recess in the front face thereof, said recessterminating in. an inwardly sloping seat portion, a plastic corneamember of different color seated in said recess, said cornea havingbevelled peripheral edges and curved opposite faces corresponding incurvature to the front face of the oblate member, one of said bevellededges seating on the seat portion of the recess, the outer edges of saidrecess extending over and engaging the other bevelled edge of the corneamember to retain same in said recess, a pin having its head mounted inthe oblate member, and a shank extending rearwardly thereof for securingthe eye in a doll.

2. A dolls eye consisting of the combination of an oblate member ofsemitransparent plastic material to represent the eyeball, said memberhaving a central bore therethrough and a plurality of counterborestherein forming recesses, the counterbore adjacent the front face ofsaid eye being the larger and having an inwardly sloping frusto-conicalseat portion at the inner end thereof, a pin having the head thereof inthe counterbore remote from the front face and the shank extendingthrough the bore of the eyeball member, and a plastic cornea memberofdifferent color seated in the larger counterbore, said cornea memberhaving opposite faces of substantially spherical contour cor-respondingto the curvature of the oblate member, said faces terminating in'frusto-conical peripheral edges one of which seats on the seat portionof the counterbore, the outer edge of the counterbo're engaging theother frust-o-ccnical peripheral edge of the cornea member to hold samein place with the curvatm'e of the face of the cornea member forming acontinuation of the curvature 'of the oblate member.

' RICHARD RUPERT.

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